In conventional linked vehicles such as boats, the body of the boat is constructed as a substantially rigid member which follows the movements caused by the flow of the water as a whole, without deforming to any degree worth mentioning. In cases in which the carrying water has a very uneven surface, has a significant vertical drop, and/or has in directions perpendicular to the direction of travel a very limited width, a boat with a rigid body proves to be very bulky and not very maneuverable, and the body of the boat is exposed to strong mechanical stresses since, for example, there are times when large parts of the boat project out of the water. An example in which such relationships exist are wild-water rapids or streams and corresponding artificially made wild-water channels in amusement parks.
In the wild-water channels in amusement parks, uncontrolled boats are used which, without any independent drive, come down the wild-water channel. The boats which are used for this are typically round boats, namely boats which are built in the form of a circle, wherein the floating member consists primarily of a circular inflated hose. The bottom of this boat is flat. Such round boats have a very poor lateral center of gravity. The boat is easily inclined, whereby the lower-lying side is then easily moved under the water. Furthermore, these boats are easily urged out of the center of the wild-water channel, where the largest flow velocity exists, and are urged toward the bank, where the flow velocity is lower. Similar problems exist in so-called speed boats which, within an artificially made water channel, travel rapidly downwardly from a relatively great height. These speed boats have, as a rule, a more slender shape and are longer than the aforementioned circular boats for the wild-water channels. They are very sensitive to unevenness of the guiding channel.
During operation of boats of the aforementioned type in artificial water channels, one must always take care that the water channels carry a sufficient amount of water so that the boat can float. This is particularly difficult in the case of water channels with stretches of rapid downhill travel, since here the drop of the water channel is very great. Engagement of the boat with the bottom of the water-conducting channel often cannot be avoided, which results in damage to the channel and boat and reduces the speed of the boat in an undesired manner.
A basic purpose of the invention is to provide a nonfloatable vehicle or a vehicle which floats stably on very uneven water or in a very uneven fixed channel and which in either case follows very well the water flow in relatively narrow wild-water channels or the guiding of a water-conducting or a dry channel.
To attain this purpose, a linked vehicle is provided which includes several longitudinally spaced, substantially rigid, floating or nonfloating units which are connected with each other in such a manner that the units can be pivoted with respect to one another and/or can be moved relative to one another in directions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.